All Island Entrepreneurs Conference

Naomh McElhatton

Conference Host & Focus session | REVenue your engines

As CEO & Co-Founder of dara & co. Naomh was listed as one of Ireland's Top 5 Entrepreneurs by the Irish Times. Naomh has over 20 years experience working in the technology and digital education sector. From founding spin-outs, to start-ups to working with £1bn companies, Naomh understands the pitfalls and opportunities in business. With over 20 years of award winning experience in sales, marketing strategy and digital education, Naomh has worked with a vast range of industry sectors. Naomh is a well-known guest speaker and mentor, she is also the Entrepreneurial Lead for Women in AI Ireland, an Associate Lecturer at Ulster University and a STEM Ambassador.

Norah Casey

Guest Speaker | Presenter, author and magazine publisher

Norah was a former Dragon in the popular RTE television series, Dragons’ Den and is a well-known radio and television personality. Her digital learning platform, Planet Woman, seeks to empower women and much of her pro-bono work is devoted to mentoring female founders globally. She serves on the European Board for Vital Voices and is a founder of the London-based Women's Irish Network. As a journalist and former nurse, her awards include: Woman of the Decade Award from the Women’s Economic Forum, Ireland’s Philanthropist of the Year Award and has been a five times Publisher of the Year. As well as owning Harmonia Publishing Ltd, Norah is an experienced broadcaster and producer. Norah’s business expertise is extensive, having acquired and grown multiple businesses to multi-million euro global success stories.

Aisling Bremner

Focus session | Unleashing the Power of Your Brand: Key Strategies for Entrepreneurs

Aisling is one of Northern Ireland’s leading brand marketeers and has over 20 years’ experience working with iconic global brands including Heinz, Budweiser, Coors Light and market leading local brands including Dale Farm, Queen’s University Belfast, Propertynews and Keylite. Today, Aisling specialises in supporting the growth of businesses through the development of successful brand growth and brand positioning strategies and brings her two decades of senior marketing strategy leadership positions to local businesses and brands to help them to get clarity on their brand, create actionable marketing plans and unlock growth for their businesses.

Maurica Mackle

Focus session | Empower Your Communications

Maurica is the owner of a multi award winning boutique PR consultancy - Mackle Communications. With awards such as CIPR Mark of Excellence Independent PR Practitioner (2020) to her name, Maurica can help your business dare to compete when it comes to Strategy Development, Communications, Public Relations and taking your brand and business to audiences through media.

Eimer Hannon

Focus session | Crafting Your Strategic Vision

As the Managing Director and founder of Hannon Travel, Eimer has grown over 30 year’s experience in the corporate travel industry, while consistently nurturing meaningful relationships with clients throughout her career. With a passion for advancing the travel industry, Eimer sits on the Irish International Air Transport Association Agency Programme and was the winner of the Matheson WMB Female Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 and a Lead Entrepreneur on the ACORNS programme. Eimer is an advocate for the success of a new generation of business women, encouraging you to dare to be strategic in your business ambitions.

Sarah Thompson

Dare to grow panellist | Owner of Ted & Stitch

Sarah co-founded Ted and Stitch, along with her husband Paul, back in 2019. The company specialise in embroidered branded workwear, promotional clothing, slogan clothing, fashion t-shirts and fashion sweaters. In November 2021 they turned over in one month their projected turnover for the entire year and have continued to grow, expanding their team and product ranges. Sarah is a proud working mum who is not afraid to share her passion for women in business and gives an honest approach to life as a working mum.

Christine Boyle

Dare to grow panellist | CEO of Senergy Innovations

Christine has over 20 years experience as a Managing Director in Commercial Roofing, living by the 3 P's as she runs her family business - Perseverance, keep pushing for each small win, the snowball will slowly get bigger; Patience, Rome wasn’t built in a day; and Partners, you need to get out and find the best industry, academic and business partners to make your innovation a reality. Offering logical solutions to global problem, Christine will join us to share her expertise in project management, driving innovation & business strategy.

Alison Banton

Dare to grow panellist | CEO of Brooke & Shoals Fragrances

Alison decided to create her own range of high quality candles, which are Irish made in Co. Wicklow, from natural. Now, Brooke & Shoals divine natural wax candles, home fragrance diffusers and natural body product range can be found in many high quality stores in Ireland and the UK and increasingly in mainland Europe.

Anne Butterly

Dare to grow panellist | CEO of Easydry

With Easydry, Anne created the world’s first 100% biodegradable, disposable towel almost twenty years ago. Since then, the company has grown to have a presence in more than 20 countries and offers a full product range including hair, beauty, gym, healthcare, and hospitality products. Anne’s mission is to create a range of innovative, eco-friendly textiles to revolutionise industries that depend upon cotton and plastic. She is leading the way in her industry, as Easydry is now one of the very few B Corporations in Ireland - recognising the outstanding social and environmental performance of the business. Anne is a proud award winning female entrepreneur, championing the empowerment for others across Ireland and the globe. As she has taken part in the Enterprise Ireland Going for Growth programme, the Vital Voices Global Ambassadors Programme and was shortlisted for the WE Empower Challenge 2019, advancing the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal.

Melanie Breslin

Focus session | The entrepreneurial mindset

Melanie is a highly experienced, fervently passionate, CEO of The Elite Mindset Academy, that believes in the transformative power of self-development. Having served hundreds of clients spanning across Ireland, the U.K, Europe, the USA, Australia, India, and Malaysia and beyond, Melanie has had a monumental impact on the lives of many and it is her purpose in life to continue to coach as many minds as she possibly can, Melanie specialises in coaching for success and has been trained by the prestigious Bob Proctor Personally as a leading Certified mindset coach.

Francesca Morelli

Focus session | The use of influencers

Francesca is the Enterprise Development Officer at QUBSU and Co-Founder of VAVA Influence, NI's first dedicated Influencer Marketing Agency. Established in 2020, VAVA Influence works with brands across NI, ROI, and the UK to connect them with relevant social media influencers for marketing and promotional purposes - drastically improving the reach and exposure of leading brands. As a co-founder of NI's first TikTok house, Francesca also hosts a series of workshops and masterclasses to help educate business owners and marketing executives on various aspects of social media, particularly in the TikTok space.

Alex Depledge

Guest Speaker | Founder & CEO of Resi

As one of the leading female lights in the UK’s tech scene, Alex has gone from start-up to £20m in less than five years, after selling her co-founded business, Hassle.com (2015). Alex joins us as a woman in business who left a secure corporate job, for the challenges of a start-up venture. With a lot of lessons learned in a short time, Alex considers what her experiences can tell would-be entrepreneurs and large businesses who are seeking to adopt a start-up mentality. As she plans to share her expertise on how to scale up a business without losing the culture that made it special, while keeping customer needs at the centre of your business. Alex is also part of the UK Governments taskforce on Women-Led High-Growth Enterprises and Labour’s review of business start-up funding. Having gone on to win Business Woman of the Year 2019 at the FL National Awards, she has now started Resi - an innovative online architectural service that is revolutionising how people renovate.